Thomas Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy

Thomas George Shaughnessy
Thomas George Shaughnessy circa 1910
Born	October 6, 1853(1853-10-06) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Died	December 10, 1923(1923-12-10) (aged 70) Montreal, Quebec
Spouse	Elizabeth Bridget Nagle

Shaughnessy House (1876) by William Thomas (architect)

Thomas George Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy, KCVO (6 October 1853 – 10 December 1923) was an American-born Canadian railway administrator who rose from modest beginnings as a clerk and bookkeeper for the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad (a predecessor of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad) to become the president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, serving in that capacity from 1899 to 1918. In recognition of his stewardship of the CPR and its contributions to the war effort during the Great War, Shaughnessy was elevated to the Peerage of the United Kingdom on 1 January 1916 as Baron Shaughnessy, of the City of Montreal in the Dominion of Canada and of Ashford in the County of Limerick.

Shaughnessy was born in Milwaukee to Thomas Shaughnessy, of Limerick, Ireland and married Elizabeth Bridget Nagle in 1880 and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. The Shaughnessys' had two sons (William James Shaughnessy served as captain and adjutant of the Duchess of Connaught’s Irish-Canadian Rangers; second Baron of Shaughnessy) and three daughters.

Shaughnessy House, his home in Montreal, designed by Montreal architect William Thomas (architect) in 1876, was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1974 and is now part of the Canadian Centre for Architecture. The surrounding district is named Shaughnessy Village.

He was the grandfather of the writer and producer Alfred Shaughnessy, best known for serving as the script editor of Upstairs, Downstairs.

Titles and Honours

• Knight Bachelor, 1901
• Order of the Sacred Treasure of the 2nd class Japan, 1907
• Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order,1907
• Knight of Grace, Order of St. John, 1910
• 1st Baron Shaughnessy, 1916

References

• Regehr, Theodore D. (2005). "Thomas Shaughnessy". Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. XV. Toronto. ISBN 0-8020-9087-7. http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=7967. 

Business positions
Preceded by William Cornelius Van Horne	President of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited 1899 – 1918	Succeeded by Edward Wentworth Beatty
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by New Creation	Baron Shaughnessy 1916–1923	Succeeded by William James Shaughnessy